Readings: Exodus 16:2-35; 17:1-7; Psalm 78:12-20, 23-28, 32-35 (antiphon: v. 35); 1 Corinthians 10:2-4; John 6:31-35 In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Newly freed from slavery, on the move for about month, and running out of food the Israelites complain. (Exod. 16:1-3) So the Lord rained down meat for supper and bread for breakfast. (Exod. 16:8, 11-14) Sweet bread that tasted like honey. (Exod. 16:31) Miraculous bread that appeared when the dew burned off in the light of day, when the Lord appeared in the cloud (Exod. 16:10), when the sun burst upon the white stuff covering ground like snow. (Exod. 16:13-14) It must have radiated just like fresh snow when the sun bursts through the clouds, increasing the glory of Lord as the stuff on the ground shone with heavenly light. And they said, “What is it?”—“Manna?” in their language. And never ones to understate the obvious, or maybe they were folks with a deep sense of humour, they called it that throughout the 40 years that they ate it. Manna—What is it? And the answer to that question is important: “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” (Exod. 16:15) Bread from heaven, bread of life, given by the Lord, the second person of the Trinity, who is the living bread from heaven. That bread that when eaten gives eternal life. (John 6:47-51)